J.W. Waterhouse and the Magic of Color

English painter John William Waterhouse (1849–1917) communicates his distinctive aesthetic vision through his use of color. Throughout his career, he experimented with color as an element with seemingly spatial qualities. His works have an unusual formalism—figures and settings often appear not merely realistic but somewhat hyperreal. Yet paradoxically Waterhouse’s works border on the abstract, prioritizing chromatic features over content. They invite us to focus on colors—and through them line, shape, texture and rhythm—in much the same way as works by Kandinsky, Klee, Matisse or Pollock.